Although Moises Caicedo is widely recognised as one of the world’s best current midfielders, Barcelona’s Pedri was well aware of his talents before he joined Chelsea.
If you look at Chelsea’s history, it is stacked with some phenomenal defensive midfielders. Of course, N’Golo Kante and Claude Makelele immediately spring to mind. Well, Moises Caicedo could end up joining them if he continues on this upward trajectory.
The Blues paid Brighton £115m (Sky Sports) in 2023 to sign Caicedo, and the fact that very few people bring up his price tag is a sign of his success in West London.
Now into his third season at Stamford Bridge, the 23-year-old powerhouse is shining as an all-action central midfielder. In fact, Caicedo has made 23% of Chelsea’s tackles so far in the 2025-26 Premier League.
Moises Caicedo celebrates scoring for Ecuador against Senegal at the 2022 World Cup.
Photo by Ayman Aref/NurPhoto via Getty Images
What Pedri said about Moises Caicedo in 2022
Barcelona and Spain star Pedri, 22, is yet another talent regarded as one of the world’s elite central midfielders.
It is fascinating to look back and recall he picked out Caicedo as a huge talent because of his performances for Ecuador at the 2022 World Cup. At the time, he was still at Brighton, but he would soon make the gigantic move to Chelsea.
It appears that Caicedo already had an admirer in a fellow midfield sensation. In December 2022, Pedri told XBuyer: “The one I’ve seen who has most surprised me was the one from Ecuador; Moises Caicedo. He’s very good. He’s top. I like him a lot.”
Pedri playing for Spain against Morocco at the 2022 World Cup.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Let’s wait and see where Caicedo ends up going in his career, but Blues supporters should be extremely excited to watch the journey because he’s getting better and better.
Chelsea icon Frank Lampard recently compared Caicedo to Kante and Makelele, suggesting he sees similarities with both.
Team Appearances
Chelsea 107
Brighton 53
Independiente del Valle 31
Beerschot 14
Ecuador 56
Moises Caicedo’s senior record for club and country
Moises Caicedo trains before Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
On Saturday afternoon, Chelsea travel to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Will Caicedo be fit to play for the visitors? Without him, it would be a significant blow.
The encouraging news is that the South American star has been training at Cobham with his teammates prior to the Forest clash, even though he was rested by Ecuador during October’s international break.
The prospect of starting Caicedo and Romeo Lavia as a midfield pairing should excite the fanbase because they’ve got a bit of everything.